LE SSERAFIM at Coachella, Was it their "Best Performance"?

(MHNSports reporter Sun Shin) On April 13th (local time), LE SSERAFIM's Sakura opened up about the harsh criticism surrounding her Coachella performance.

Two days later on the 15th, Sakura shared a lengthy post on the fan communication platform Weverse.

First, Sakura said, "I learned a lot from preparing for Coachella to the day of the performance. I thought about whether being on stage meant I had to show a perfect image, please the audience, or decorate the stage without a single mistake. Standards might vary from person to person and depending on what kind of stage it is," and added, "I wanted to create a Coachella stage that even people who don't know LE SSERAFIM or our songs would find truly fun and unforgettable."

Then, Sakura continued, "I believe this resolve was conveyed and it became the best performance. It's been less than two years since our debut and we've only toured once, but we genuinely enjoyed and put our all into Coachella."

Moreover, Sakura stated, "Only I truly know what I've done. I sincerely prepared for Coachella and think I showed everything while enjoying the day of the performance," and added, "Some might see it as immature, but no one is perfect to everyone. The fact that it was the best performance we've shown at Coachella is unwavering. It was a stage that made me think we need to become a better team and continue working hard."

Nevertheless, Sakura remarked, "While walking in the Coachella square today, some people approached me saying yesterday's performance was the best, which was very touching. The audience enjoying the performance to the end and singing along with us became the best memory for me," and highlighted, "No matter what anyone thinks, I believe in what I felt, and that's how I got here, and I'll continue to trust myself."

Finally, Sakura expressed gratitude, "Thank you to all the staff, dancers, and band members who worked hard for this stage," and to her fans, both onsite and watching from afar, "Thank you so much. Having FEARNA (fan name) with us allowed us to stand proudly on stage. We'll continue to work hard to show you good performances, so please keep supporting us. I'll do my best next week too."

On April 13th (local time), LE SSERAFIM (Kim Chaewon, Kazuha, Heo Yunjin, Sakura, Hong Eunchae) performed for about 40 minutes at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, the largest music festival in the United States, known as 'Coachella'.

That day, LE SSERAFIM showcased songs including 'ANTIFRAGILE', 'FEARLESS', 'The Great Mermaid', 'UNFORGIVEN', 'Perfect Night', 'Smart', 'EASY', 'Fire in the belly'. Notably, the group staged 'UNFORGIVEN' with Nile Rodgers, and even revealed an unreleased song, facing the local audience with bold moves.

Initially, the members continued with intense performances while seemingly focusing on vocals, but as the performance went on, they appeared increasingly strained.

After the 'Coachella' performance was broadcast live worldwide, a controversy over their vocal abilities arose, continuing the criticism from previous live encore performances on domestic music broadcasts, where some netizens had remarked it sounded like "friends singing at a karaoke."

Netizens reacted negatively, saying "the cheers from the audience dwindled as the performance went on", "they are tarnishing the reputation built by HYBE, who raised BTS", "there has been controversy over live vocals before, they should have focused on vocals even if it meant reducing the choreography", "worried about next week's performance."

Faced with such criticism, Sakura opened up through Weverse, maintaining that she did her best, yet netizens still responded coldly, saying "it seems complacent", "she needs to start with self-objectivity", "is she justifying herself?"

Since its inception in 1999, 'Coachella' has become a major US music festival heating up Coachella Valley every year. The festival is known for inviting artists with both popular appeal and musical integrity, and this year's headliners included alternative genre master singer-songwriter Lana Del Rey, Grammy Award Best Rap Album winner Tyler, The Creator, and Doja Cat, who has swept numerous awards including Grammy, American Music Awards, Billboard Music Awards, and MTV Video Music Awards.

Last year, BLACKPINK became the first Korean artist to headline at 'Coachella', which drew significant attention, with the festival attracting 125,000 attendees and about 250 million concurrent viewers via YouTube livestream, demonstrating its massive impact.

With increasing interest in K-pop in the US, more Korean artists have been invited, including ATEEZ, LE SSERAFIM, Tiger JK & Yoon Mirae, Bibi, and Peggy Gou this year.

On April 12th (local time), ATEEZ performed 10 songs matched to a full band live performance for about an hour, impressing with their tireless live vocals despite intense dance routines. They also incorporated traditional Korean elements such as the Four Guardians flags and Ganggangsullae dance, and the Bongsan mask dance performance, receiving high praise locally.

On April 14th, Tiger JK and Yoon Mirae couple and Bibi took the stage at '88rising Futures' at the Mojave Stage.

The 'Feel Good Corps' interacted with the audience more through singing than performance, starting with 'TOPLINE', which gained global popularity with Stray Kids, followed by 'VOoDOo BOogie' from the 'NBA2K24' soundtrack, and hit songs 'MONSTER', 'Bam Yanggang', and 'SUGAR RUSH', showing a connection through music.

The favorable responses to these performances suggest that audiences prefer artists who lead the atmosphere with music rather than challenging dances.

Whether Sakura's sincere preparation was meant for 'intense dance' or 'enjoying the stage with the audience' is debatable. LE SSERAFIM decorated the stage with numerous dancers at the time. Perhaps if the intense choreography had been left to the dancers who don't sing, preparing a stage to enjoy explosively powerful vocals with the audience, the criticism might not have occurred.

As a group that focuses on 'performance', like ATEEZ, LE SSERAFIM should be noted for both vocal talent and performance, but it remains tagged only as a 'performance group', suggesting a need to reflect on past activities.

LE SSERAFIM has now gained valuable 'reference material' from their first 'Coachella'. If they wish to heat up 'Coachella' with 'performance' they can follow ATEEZ's example, or if with 'music', they can take cues from the 'Feel Good Corps'.

It remains to be seen whether LE SSERAFIM can clear the controversy over their abilities with Sakura's confidence when they take the 'Coachella' stage again on April 20th (local time).

Images = ⓒ MHNSports DB, Coachella Live Capture, Lindsey Blane